Easter weekend hiking in the Cairngorms, a great trip with good weather (Munros Completed : Lochnagar (9), Carn an t-Sagairt Mor (10), Carn a’Choire Bhoidheach (White Mounth) (11), Cairn Bannoch (12), Broad Cairn (13), Glas Maol (14), Creag Leacach (15), Carn an Tuirc (16), Cairn of Claise (17)).
The Cairngorms is a wonderful, less visited area of the Highlands than other parts, though not inaccessible.
In the morning we drove along the A93 and along the B976 down to the Spittal of Glenmuick (past Balmoral). The road is surprisingly good for a B road and the Car Park area large, though there were only a handful of cars at this time of year. We geared up and headed at 09:00 through the Forest, past the Visitor Centre (which is well worth a look) and towards the hills.
The start of the track is large, & is well defined along a rocky stone path with a gentle rise up towards Meikle Pap. Take a moment to step briefly off the track to view the memorial of Bill Stuart, a climber who died on the cliffs in 1953, which we reached at 11:00 for a well needed coffee break. Here the path steepens slightly but remains well built and leads to the marvellous views of the Lochnagar cliffs with the gullies still deep in snow. They are similar in view but not stature to the cliff faces of Ben Nevis. The track takes a wonderful route up along the cliff edge (still with cornices at this time of year) to the summit of Cac Carn Beag (1155m).
Disappointing Snow in Lochnagar
It seems it had been a poor winter for snow, as disappointingly it was far sparser than we anticipated with only large patches on the upper slopes, negating any requirement for crampons or ice axe. By 1:30 we had reached Carn a Choire Bhaidheach (1110m), which is just a grassy mound to the left of the corrie. To here the walking is easy as most of the height has been gained reaching Lochnagar.
We then dropped slightly down the grassy slopes before a small ascent up to Carn an t-Sagairt Beag (1044), passing the wing of some kind of aircraft. Strangely there appears to be no sign of any other part of the aircraft or any sign of crash. Another small descent and slight ascent before reaching Carn an t-Sagairt Mor (1047) by early afternoon.
From here there is a pleasant s
trolling walk along the wide saddle with great views all around to Cairn Bannoch (1012) which can be seen in the distance. The path follows a similar tale towards Broad Cairn (998) until you near the summit which is surrounded by granite blocks, which makes a pleasant change from the marshy slopes. The path down from here is not so enjoyable, strewn with a jumble of rocks and boulders.
Eventually we passed an animal shelter and 150 m after, took the steeply descented path towards Lake Muick. This is far better than opting for the track along the top of the sides of the lake. About halfway along, just past a beautiful small beach area where the Black Burn river empties into the Lake, this path meets up with the track. Deceptively here there is further to go to the end than realised and this part of the walk along the road sized track is fairly uninteresting particularly after such a long day. We finally arrived back at the car park just after 6:00 p.m.
Bagging Glenshee Munros
The following day the weather was again glorious if not actually warmer than the day before. This time we headed a short distance south of Braemar along the A93 passing the Glenshee ski area to park in a Parking area for a small number or cars in a lay-by on the left, just beyond the Devil’s Elbow.
Following the small path down from this layby we walked by the stream, crossing it after 10 mins & headed for the col between Meall Gorm and Creag Leacach. Here the slopes are grassy and the rise in ground steep as much of the height gained on this walk is included in this section. We saw a lot of hares in the area which were halfway in appearance between their winter white and summer brown coats.
Further up the grassy slopes fade into rocky boulders which leads to the summit of Creag Leacach (987m). From here it is a fairly easy walk in terms of height gained all the way to Glas Maol which can be seen in the distance. The views are wonderful though the large broken rocky boulders are not the easiest to walk on and care is required in stepping between them. The navigation is made even easier by following a stone wall for most of the way passing a corrie on the right, before heading up a long grassy mound to the summit of Glas Maol (1068m).
After meeting some other Scottish hikers who were resting at the Glas Maol summit cairn we headed off down the Northern slopes which meets up soon with a very wide path (an old drover’s road), passing over peat covered marsh towards Cairn of Claise (1064m). Although we encountered slightly large patches of snow on this side the walk along this area and the views are fairly uninteresting. There is a small rise over boulder rock to Claise where we stopped for lunch.
Here it is possible to take in a further two Munros (Tom Buidhe and Tom Mount) by heading East, but after a long day yesterday, I decided on a shorter day and headed NNW to the Carn an Tuiric, skirting along the corrie to the West. The initial ascent up the grassy slopes is moderately steep regaining the wonderful views of the Macdui range but the latter part to reach the summit is a horrible walk over broken, stony rubble.
Be careful on the descent from this summit as it is very steep to gain the path. As the weather was good, I descided to descend on a steep snow covered slope to reach the heather strewn valley below and follow the burn tack to a car park by the road. This final part of the walk can be deceiving though, taking over an hour to descend from the Tuiric summit, yet by sight, the car park appears as if it can be gained in half the time !
It is quite feasible to walk along the road back to the car park and in pleasant weather I did so, stopping off at the Glenshee cafeteria for refreshment. This takes just over an hour and as the path is wide and traffic light and the views good, not an unenjoyable walk. However, if legs are tired hitching back to the other car park is certainly an option.